If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Even if you hate the Browns.....

....and you probably do, as a football fan you must check out "A Football Life: the 1995 Browns." I consider it a must see for any modern era football fan. And the fact that the Steelers are so intertwined with the Browns and the AFC North (formerly central) makes this a riot to soak in.

First of all, the program itself is outstanding; they usually only cover 1 person per episode, but this episode covers all of the 1995 Browns and how they departed, etc. But the more intriguing part of this show is the amazing staff that Belichick had. It's like the who's who of every major coach and GM out there today. Even The King of modern college football was on his staff, Nick Saban (You have to see what a spaz he was then, rocking in his chair like a lunatic). Most of all the now-famous coaches were working for BB for like $14k a year. Mangini was on that team. Jim Schwartz, Kirk Ferentz, Rick Venturi, Scott Pioli. They had 5 coaches living in one small apartment that was literally at the end of an airport runway. Most said there was no reason to have cable (or heat or AC) because they were never home any ways.

I had no idea that the 1995 Browns had so many future big name coaches and GMs. That is not only a testament to BB, but to his original mentor, Big Tuna. How many coaches came from his coaching tree? It is mind boggling that he was at the root of so many future coaches. Tuna is one of the best coaches ever in the history of the NFL.

Dont have to watch it now........should have titled it *SPOILER ALERT*

No, trust me: My rhetoric will come no where close to illuminating all the good, fun little nuggets in there, like how the final game in the stadium went down. This program gives an awesome insight to life behind the scenes in the NFL. If you are an NFL fan, you will love it. If you are a Steeler-only fan, you might not love it as much as I do. But for the life of me, with our intertwining of football life with the Browns, I still think most Steeler fans will enjoy it.

I have to admit, as crappy as the Browns have been, when I am determining which game to switch to when Pgh is in commercials (or not playing at the 1:00 game), on my NFL Ticket, I find myself tuning into the Browns as my secondary game to watch. Ravens about the same, and the Bills in 3rd place. I guess that is because of them being the teams I have the most history watching.

This is Planet Steelers. Doesn't pretty much everyone here hate the Browns?

You don't understand human emotion. When you "hate" something, you are vastly interested in it/them. If you hate a team, you are passionate in soaking in information about them. It is only when you are apathetic that you would not even care to see stuff on another team. So there's that. But also, I actually don't even hate them. They suck too bad to hate them. Once they start beating us, in at least half the games we play, my hatred may return. Then again, it may not, as since I moved out of western PA, I really don't have that illogical hate state of mind on football things. But, I still see such a state when I see Steeler fans visit other stadiums on away games. If you leave WPA, you generally lose that anger that can be witnessed in Steeler fans who still live in WPA.

This program was fascinating. It really gives you an inside to why Belichick is such an awesome coach. He had the Browns on the right track before he was fired. There is no question they were on their way to getting good. He did have the one play off season before he left. But he also did learn from his head coaching stink in Cleveland as well. He learned that he had to have some kind of relationship with the players and not be so cold on the personal side of things. Players don't want to play for a guy who doesn't talk to them on somewhat of a personal level. Belichick, by his own admission, didn't realize you had to have a little bit of a relationship with the players - not just strictly football coaching. Tom Coughlin also figured this out and since has won two Super Bowls.

I also saw part of the program, I never knew they had Pioli and Saban etc either.

I thought it was fascinating. Did you see Saban rocking in his chair like a mental patient. Talk about intensity. Did you see all those lame-looking colorful sweaters they were sporting. I didn't recall 1995 having such sweaters as popular.

And I agree: Cleveland has made giant strides. They will no longer be a doormat; those days are officially over. It started with the new ownership - a former minority owner of the Steelers. Out with the rich kid son who never had any experience in running anything, not to mention an NFL team, and in with a passionate owner who has seen the right way to run a franchise. Holmgren was an overrated buffoon. Replacing him with the guy that kept the Eagles contenders year and year (no, he wasn't there for the recent "dream team" fiasco. He would never run a team like that.) Gone with an inept coach, in with a young, fiery coach who gets after it. And they've got some players already, especially a running back who showed flashes of being an Earl Campbell last year, even though he had bad ribs and some other dings. They got some players on defense, have some decent O-line men. Definitely have some holes to fill, such as QB, CB, WR. For the first time since the 80s, we could be looking at a Browns team that is superior to the Steelers. Same thing with the Bengals. Not having an automatic 4 wins in the div. will make contending much more difficult.